Egypt thwarts smuggling antiquities of Muhammad Ali's family

CAIRO – 19 May 2019: Egyptian security authorities in Cairo International Airport foiled an attempt to smuggle into Egyptsome antiquities, which belong to the family of Muhammad Ali Pasha, an Ottoman Albanian commander who ruled Egypt in the 19th century.

The seized antiquities include clothes, personal belongings, copper products and utensils, a security statement said, adding that the archaeological committee in the airport found that they include two objects dating back to the family of the Albanian commander.

The person accused of smuggling the objects lives inCairo and has the nationality of a foreign country.

In April, Cairo International Airport authorities managed to foil an attempt to smuggle a number of real bullets, cold weapons, ancient swords and gemstones, in violation of the Egyptian relevant laws.

The authorities could seize 13 bullets of a Grenov machine gun, eightpocketknives, 22 coins dating back to the Abbasid Caliphate's era, twoancient swords related to late kings of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), and around 2 kilograms of gemstones, according to security reports.

The smuggled objects were in the possession of an Arab passenger who was travelling from Jeddah to Cairo.